Man jailed after pure heroin found in picture frames

A man from Bradford has been jailed for seven years and nine months for his involvement in a plot to smuggle heroin into the country inside picture frames.

Tariq Hussain, 32, was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court on Friday after admitting charges of conspiring to evade the prohibition on the importation of controlled drugs and possessing a Class A drug with intent to supply at a hearing last month.

Police described the smuggling operation as sophisticated (PA)

He was arrested in June last year after police officers spotted two men behaving in a suspicious manner.

A subsequent search of two cars revealed a package containing five framed pictures and a number of mobile phones.

Tests on the pictures by the Forensic Science Service revealed almost a kilo of pure heroin hidden in the frames and impregnated in the hardboard backing.

The heroin is thought to have originated in Pakistan and West Yorkshire Police’s Detective Inspector Noel Devine said once it had been cut with substances such as paracetamol and caffeine, it would have been worth £500,000.

He added: ‘This was a very sophisticated way to import such high purity drugs into the UK and just shows what lengths organised crime gangs are prepared to go to.’

This is not the first time picture frames have been used to import illegal drugs into the country.

Last year, a package from Togo containing a painting of the Manchester City footballer Emmanuel Adebayor was intercepted and opened at a sorting office in Coventry. The frame was found to contain a kilo of cannabis.